


like friends do

by thundersart



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: Best Friends, Childhood Friends, Cliche, Clingy, F/M, First Kiss, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Gentle Kissing, Holding Hands, Implied Jason Grace/Piper McLean - Freeform, Implied Leo Valdez/Rachel Elizabeth Dare, Implied Reyna Avila Ramírez-Arellano/Thalia Grace, i'm a brazilian girl writing about kids in new york and it shows, i'm sorry i suck at geography, percabeth
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-15
Updated: 2020-09-15
Packaged: 2021-03-06 18:07:02
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,536
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26483134
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thundersart/pseuds/thundersart
Summary: Percy didn’t want to act like friends do when he was around her. He wanted more.
Relationships: Annabeth Chase/Percy Jackson
Comments: 2
Kudos: 87





	like friends do

**Author's Note:**

> In my defense, only realized how cliche this was after I finished writing it.
> 
> This is just some good old percabeth clingy friends to lovers because why not?

Having a fight with her father wasn’t in Annabeth’s plans for the night.

That day, during class, her chemistry teacher was probably having a bad day, and he took it out on his students. Annabeth had an assignment that day and she had to present it to the class, just to be embarrassed by the teacher correcting her with things she probably would only learn with a major, and, because of that, he gave a good grade for all of her teammates — all of them with the exact same grade —, but Annabeth ended up with a lower one.

While helping her father cut some vegetables for dinner, Annabeth brought up the subject. She told him — and, therefore, her stepmom, who was sitting in the kitchen with her notebook solving something from work — about how Mr. Thorn treated her, how rude he was to Frank when he asked a question and how his favoritism for a girl was affecting the classes.

She was expecting a little bit of understanding coming from him. He was a teacher, after all. What she didn’t expect was that her stepmother would step in the conversation.

“You’re overreacting, Annabeth,” she said. “I’ve met Mr. Thorn and I know he is an excellent teacher. If you wanted a better grade, you should’ve worked harder for it. It’s not his fault your presentation wasn’t good enough.”

Being pissed with her stepmother was a thing Annabeth was already used to. They had never gotten along well. When it was about Frederick, well, they also hadn’t the best father-daughter relationship. She would constantly get mad at him, for things he did and things he _didn’t_. Hearing him saying that his wife was probably right and that maybe Annabeth should “try harder next time” got her wrathful.

She dropped the knife, got away from the kitchen and slammed her bedroom door. On her bed was the denim skirt and the black long-sleeved crop top she pretended to use that night. Annabeth just grabbed the cloth and put it back on her closet and pulled her pajamas out of it.

Going bowling with her friends didn’t seem that fun anymore.

She grabbed her phone to tell Piper she wouldn’t go with them later, just to find out her phone was discharged. Annabeth groaned, plugging it to the charger and throwing herself on the bed.

Time passed by and she was stuck in her own thoughts. She hated being called _not good enough_ , and today it had happened twice. When she questioned Mr. Thorn about her grade, he told her she should stop acting like a smartass if she didn’t know enough to act like one, but she _knew_. Chems wasn’t exactly her favorite subject, but during the past two years, her teacher was amazing and Annabeth absolutely loved Mrs. Chavez. However, when her wife got pregnant, she decided to teach at a school closer to where they lived.

The Chavez-Blake little girl was beautiful, quite the opposite of Annabeth’s grades since her favorite teacher left.

She tried her best every time, and getting A– and B’s wasn’t that easy anymore, but she could handle it. What got her pissed wasn’t the fact she had gotten a C, it was that she was the only one who’d gotten it and that it happened unfairly. And getting told she was overreacting about it also didn’t make her mood better.

Annabeth heard when Matthew told her that dinner was ready. She may be really angry and her main desire may be to scream at him to leave her alone, but it wasn’t Matthew’s fault, he hadn’t done anything, it wasn’t fair to do it with him. She refused to do the same thing Mr. Thorn had done to her. Annabeth opened her door and politely told him she would skip it. She even faked a smile. He opened his mouth, as if he would protest about her choice, but he just left and Annabeth saw him walking down the stairs.

About fifteen minutes later, she heard someone knock on her door and she knew it was her father. He called her name, but she gave him no answer. He gave up after calling for her the fourth time and left. She was grateful he didn’t just open the door and got in the room. He respected her privacy.

When her phone started to ring, she unplugged it from the charger, seeing Percy’s name on the screen.

“ _Hey_ ,” he said as soon as she answered the call. “ _Where are you_?”

 _Shit_ , she thought. She forgot to warn her friends she wouldn’t go out anymore.

“I won’t go bowling with you today,” she said, hoping he or their friends wouldn’t get mad at them for ditching them.

“ _I guessed you wouldn’t. You’re still pissed at Mr. Thorn? Frank told me what happened._ ” Percy didn’t sound exactly mad, and Annabeth swears she heard a small laugh coming from the other line.

“Yeah. I kinda argued with my dad too,” she said. “I’m sorry.”

Percy laughed, and this time she could hear it perfectly through the phone. “ _Are you grounded?_ ” she denied. “ _Good. If you let me in, I can think about your apology._ ”

Annabeth frowned her brow, getting up from her bed and looking through the window. She saw as Percy got out of his stepfather's car, waving at her.

“I’ll open the door. Wait a second.” she said, not hanging up the call.

“ _Are you really in your pajamas?_ ” she heard him ask as she went down the stairs.

“Yes, I am. And I’m not changing it so you better—”

Annabeth saw her stepmother on the couch, watching something on the TV. To get to the door, she would have to pass through her, and even though she wasn’t grounded, the idea of having to pass through her and probably hear something as soon Percy got in didn’t please her.

“Percy, go to the back door,” she whispered on the phone, not wanting to catch her attention.

“ _Um, okay,_ ” he said. “ _I thought you weren’t grounded_.”

“I’m not.” Annabeth assured him. She went to the kitchen, grabbing the keys that were on the table and going straight to the backdoor.

“ _I’m here._ ”

Annabeth hung up the call. Unlocking the door and opening it. Percy was there, just like he said, looking confused at his phone, probably because she hung up without any warning. He was dressed in ragged jeans and a blue hoodie with the words _A.H.S. SWIM TEAM_ stitched across the front, the one Annabeth once casually borrowed without permission or any intention of giving it back later — it remembered her of him, smelled like him and it was oversized and kind of cute, don’t blame her.

He grinned, lifting his hand and showing her a bag from McDonalds. She hadn’t realized how hungry she was for skipping dinner until she saw the fast food company logo. Annabeth smiled, trying to grab the bag but he pushed it away.

“Let me think for a second,” he said, staring at nowhere and rubbing his chin, like he was concentrating on some math problem to solve. “Yeah, I accept your apologies.”

He gave her the bag. “You’re an idiot, Jackson.” he chuckled when he got in the kitchen. “Thank you. And, really, sorry for dumping you. I was going to tell you I wouldn’t go but my phone was discharged.

“Don’t worry, Wise Girl.” Percy said. “Being there without you would probably be a little boring. I’d be the ninth wheel.”

“Thalia and Reyna aren’t dating. Neither are Rachel and Leo.”

“Yet.” she shrugged before grabbing his wrist and pulling him to the stairs. “Where are you taking me?”

“My bedroom,” she did her best not to blush, knowing that she probably failed. Percy looked pretty much the same.

Percy was just a friend, unfortunately. It wasn’t any news that he would casually be in her bedroom. Her father was used to it already. However, it was different when she thought about the feelings that had been flourishing inside her since a few months ago.

“My stepmom is in the living room and I don’t want to run into my dad anytime soon.”

“Where are you brothers?” he asked when they got to the hallway.

“I’m right here.”

Percy jumped when he heard the boy’s voice. Annabeth’s brother — Matthew or Bobby, he always had a hard time whenever he tried to figure out which one was — was staring at them with his arms crossed and a smirk.

“Shouldn’t I be worried if my sister tried to snuck a boy into her room?” he asked, holding back a laugh.

“Shut up, Bobby.” Annabeth said, opening the door to her room. She pointed two fingers at him. “Don’t ditch me.”

“I’m kind of offended you think I’m that kind of brother. I won’t tell anyone. Don’t worry.” he said as he left the hallway, entering a door Percy believed it was his room.

He felt the grip on his wrist again and pulled him. Annabeth closed the door behind them and sat on the carpet, opening the McDonald’s bag and seeing two burgers in there. She grabbed one and gave Percy the other.

She told him about Mr. Thorn, about how pissed she was about all of that and was glad that he seemed just as indignated as her. He had a similar experience with his teacher, Dr. Boring, a few days ago, but his behavior was different than hers and Percy ended up in detention.

He talked about his mother, and how she had _betrayed_ him going to Montauk with Paul, her husband, and leaving him out of the trip. Annabeth teased him, saying that definitely there was a bigger _trip_ happening in Montauk. He made a ragged noise and immediately begged her to change the subject. Annabeth just laughed all along.

She told him about a conversation she had with Thalia and that she would probably ask Reyna out any day. Percy said he talked to Reyna and bet that she would be the one to ask Thalia out first. With a handshake and a pinky promise, they made the deal, both extremely confident about who would be the one to make the first move.

Annabeth constantly got caught getting distracted by him. By the way he moved his hands in big gestures when he talked, or how his voice raised gradually when he got excited talking about something and how he always shut up in the middle of something because he was worried someone would find out he was there and get Annabeth in trouble.

It was hard to focus on his words when he lied with his head on her lap and begged with a pout for her to pat him. Her hands played with his hair and she could feel his head moving whenever he laughed. Whenever he looked up at her, she fought against the blush on her cheeks and felt her body warm all over and she really hoped he couldn’t feel it.

On the other hand, Percy’s heart was pounding. The pat on his hair was making him want to fall asleep, but he knew it wasn’t going to happen. He was feeling oversensitive. He was aware of every single movement his body made, of every single part of him that was touching Annabeth. He was so electric and so calm at the same time and he didn’t even know it was possible.

Though, he learned a long time ago, everything seemed to be different with her. Everything seemed to be rearranged just for the two of them. Chemistry didn’t make sense and Physics didn’t exist. Even English seemed to have no importance when she looked at him that way that made his legs start to tremble and he couldn’t form a single period. He felt like a baby all again, without knowing a single thing about the world and having to point at whatever he wanted even if he didn’t understand why that thing in the sippy cup tasted good or why the sound that came out of that toy was funny.

Would Annabeth kiss him if he cried a little and asked for it with a pout and puppy eyes?

“Do you remember it? Gods, we used to do it a lot during middle school.” Annabeth said, looking down at him.

“Uh, what?” he asked, confused.

“Climbing to the roof. How old were we when we started doing it? Ten?” she laughed. “I remember we did it for the last time when your mom found out and threatened not making blue food anymore if we didn’t stop.”

He groaned. “She spent a whole month without making blue food. I thought she was going to stop for real.”

“Hard times, Seaweed Brain.” she said. “She was right though. It’s not safe for kids to stay on a roof.”

“We’re not kids anymore.” he said, sitting still on the carpet and looking at Annabeth. She raised an eyebrow, but the half smile on her lips made him guess she already knew what he was going to propose. “Think we can still do it?”

She bit her lip, and he knew that look. She was trying to figure out the many ways how this could probably go wrong; what was the height between the roof and the ground, how many bones they could break and how long it would take for an ambulance to arrive.

He regretted proposing it to her, but then she grabbed him again, not by the wrist this time, she grabbed his _hand_. Annabeth grinned, closing her eyes and not really believing she was about to say that, but she did.

“Let’s go find out.”

Percy grinned, getting up just as fast as she did. They both went straight to her window and he was the first one to it. Percy put one leg across the window and muttered “don’t let me fall” when he took Annabeth’s hand.

“Don’t give me any ideas, Seaweed Brain.” she said, trying to ignore the beat her heart missed when he held her hand.

Percy just smirked, knowing he could trust her anyways. If she told him to jump off a cliff or hold the weight of the sky, he would do it without even thinking. He trusted her with his whole soul. There was not a single thing he wouldn’t do if she asked him to.

And the feeling was mutual.

“Coming up, Chase?” Percy asked, already standing on the roof and looking at her.

“You can bet, Jackson.”

He held her hand again, being protective this time. Percy knew Annabeth needed no protection. He was most likely to need it than her, but still. Even if he was the clumsy one, she found it alluring that he did it.

“I forgot how much I liked this,” Annabeth said, feeling the wind on her face as she climbed to the higher part of the roof.

“I miss coming up here and complaining about our problems,” Percy chuckled as he said it. “I remember my worst problem being Nancy Bobofit and the peanut butter sandwiches she used to throw at me and Grover.”

Annabeth smiled softly, knowing that a couple months after it happened for the first time, Sally Jackson married his old stepfather. That was when Percy felt on his skin how much harder life was than just a spoiled girl who liked to throw her lunch at him to have some fun. They were both seventeen now, and life hadn’t been easy for any of them.

“Yeah,” Annabeth muttered. “I kinda miss the good old days.”

“Ten year old Percy Jackson didn’t worry about SATs or even finishing senior year.” he said, looking up at the stars. “He didn’t have to worry about winning swimming competitions to get a scholarship.”

“Seventeen year old Percy Jackson doesn’t need it just as well,” Annabeth interrupted him. “You’re the best in the team. If someone’s getting that scholarship, it is you.”

The corner of his lips turned into a smile. “And ten year old Annabeth Chase didn’t have to worry about idiot teachers lowering her grade because _someone_ can’t seem to keep professionalism.”

“ _You_ are talking about professionalism, Percy?” Annabeth laughed.

Percy shoved her playfully. “Shut up, Annabeth.”

Annabeth rested her head on Percy’s shoulder, sighing. “I liked ten year old Annabeth Chase.”

“I think seventeen year old Annabeth Chase is pretty cool too.” Percy said.

Annabeth chuckled. “That Annabeth is boring. She has dark circles under her eyes because she spends way too much time studying for her SATs. She’s also the one who ruins the mood at parties because she refuses to drink on a tuesday night and the kind of girl who ditches her friends because she’s too angry because of a grade to have some fun.”

“That Annabeth is also the smartest girl I know and she always saves me and her friends on tests. She is also the only one who can put a little sense into Thalia’s head so that she won’t go to parties in the middle of the week and that is the life of the party whenever she’s around people she loves.” Percy paused, looking at her.

For a second, Annabeth almost drowned on his sea-green eyes and let her whole body relax when he put his hand above hers.

“Seventeen year old Annabeth Chase is probably the most beautiful girl I’ve ever met and she’d definitely be the prom queen if she cared enough to apply to the role. She's been my best friend since forever ago and she’s the one person I can’t imagine my life without.” he said, letting it all out in a breath. “She would be the best person in my life if her cookies weren’t bad.”

Annabeth laughed out loud at the last statement, holding onto Percy before she ended up losing control of her own body and falling down from the roof. Percy put his arm over her shoulder, pulling her onto him in a half hug. “Seventeen year old Percy Jackson is not that bad either.”

“Do you like him?” he asked, looking at her with a sparkle in his eyes.

She bit her bottom lip. “Yes, I think I do.”

Percy stared at her intensely. She could feel his eyes staring at hers searching for something deep down her soul. It made sense, though. They’re the window to your soul, aren’t they?

He could feel the butterflies flying freely inside of him, making his body tremble with anticipation and euphoria. Percy couldn’t help but look at every part of her face, worshipping silently every inch of it. Her stormy gray eyes that looked even prettier when her mind was eased out of all the constant planning she used to do all the time. A lock of her blonde hair falling down on her face, but she didn’t seem to care enough to put it behind her ear or tie her hair up on a ponytail like she usually did. Her cheeks were slightly blushed and Percy could barely see it because of the lack of light.

Percy let himself fall into his thoughts while he looked at her. He used to daydream about them, imagining what could happen if he found out that the crush he had on her since they were twelve and that increased incredibly during the past year. Sometimes he felt like she was giving him some mixed signals, but he couldn’t tell if it was only his mind giving him what he wanted to see or if it was _real_.

He wondered what would be like to hold her hand. Not friendly, like they did when they were in a hurry and ran hand in hand, or the way she asked him to keep holding when they were at a party and a guy was hitting on her even though she already had told him she wasn’t interested. Percy wanted to hold her hand, to kiss her, to cuddle with her and to do clingy things like putting his hand on the pocket of her jeans and letting her notes in her locker.

He didn’t want to act like friends do when he was around her. He wanted _more_.

“I think I really want to kiss you.” he said, only realizing he did it out loud after Annabeth’s eyes widened in surprise.

Annabeth did her best to hold back a smile, but failed. “Wait… really?” Percy nodded, not trusting his own mouth anymore. “Okay.”

Neither of them know who was the one who made the first move, but when their lips slightly brushed against each other, it was inevitable. The next they know, they were kissing. Annabeth cupped his cheek with her hand and his arm on her shoulder went down to her waist, pulling her closer to him. Her lips tasted like her strawberry lip gloss. They were soft and gentle against Percy’s and for a second he thought he was going to lose it.

He was the one to pull away, burying his face in her neck and Annabeth could feel how embarrassed he was. She couldn’t control the laugh that escaped from her and she was pretty sure the neighbours could probably hear it.

“You’re totally allowed to do it again.” she said.

“Oh, gods,” Percy said, letting out a breathy laugh against her neck that sent shivers all over her body.

Annabeth opened her mouth to say something but was interrupted by her phone ringing on the pocket of Percy’s hoodie, which she was wearing. She looked at the name on the screen, smiled and answered the call.

“Hey, Piper.” she said, putting the call on speaker.

“ _Look, we just left Frank and Hazel home because Frank had curfew. We’re three blocks away from your house and we’re going to the beach_ ,” she said, so fast that Annabeth almost didn’t understand what she was saying. “ _You’re not allowed to ditch us this time. The same goes to Percy_.”

Percy frowned his brow next to Annabeth. “How do you even know I’m here?”

“ _Well, am I wrong_?” she asked and they could practically hear her smirk. “ _Two blocks now. We’re coming_.” she hung out the call.

Annabeth stared blankly at her phone before bursting out a laugh. Percy laughed and covered his face with his hands.

“Let’s go, Seaweed Brain.” she said, holding his hand as she led the way out of the roof back to her room through the window.

Percy waited patiently, assimilating that he had _kissed_ her, while she got out of her pajamas in her bathroom. She came out of it dressed in jeans shorts and still with his hoodie and he seemed really pleased by it. She made him wait in the hallway while she checked if there was someone downstairs, just to see that her father had joined her stepmom on the couch while they watched something on the TV.

She snuck Percy out of the house through the backdoor again and she told him she’d meet him in a second and gave him a little peck on the lips before closing the door.

Annabeth went to where her father and his wife were, not that uncomfortable being around them after their fight anymore. “I’m going out with my friends. Piper is on her way.” she said, not worrying to ask permission once he already knew she had plans for tonight.

“Okay. Don’t come back late.” he said, grabbing the key that was positioned next to him and standing his hand to give it to Annabeth. She nodded, and was going to get the keys from him before he pulled them back. “Also, tell Percy he should join us for dinner tomorrow.”

She felt the heat spreading across her face. She looked away and nodded. Her father gave her the keys and she went as fast as she could to the front door.

When she opened it, Percy was already waiting for her there. “We’ve been busted.” Annabeth said.

“Are you in trouble?” he asked.

“I don’t think so.” she shrugged.

Percy chuckled. “Good,” he grabbed her hand. “Wouldn’t want you to get in trouble because of me.”

A couple minutes later, their friends arrived. Jason was driving, Piper was in the passenger seat and Leo, Thalia, Rachel and Reyna were in the backseat. Thalia didn’t miss the chance to tease them when they approached the car to tell that Percy was driving and she saw they were holding their hands.

“Finally, huh?” she said, making Piper laugh out loudly.

Thalia and Rachel got out of the car to go with Annabeth and Percy, saying that it’d be more comfortable for all of them if Jason’s car was not that full, but they both knew it was just an excuse to tease them all the way to the beach.

“Don’t tell me to shut up, Jackson.” Thalia said at some point. “I’ve been waiting for this moment since middle school.”

As soon as they got to the beach, the smell of the salty water seemed to renovate Percy. It was no secret he loved the sea, he was almost a fish already. They all had to convince him it was a bad idea to get in the water that late so he wouldn’t just jump in to take a dive.

“You’re getting a cold if you do it.” Rachel said.

“That’s a problem for tomorrow’s Percy.”

“Percy, no.” Jason laughed, sitting in the sand and hugging Piper.

“Percy, yes.” he insisted.

“Percy, no.” Reyna said.

“Percy… maybe?”

“Percy, no.” Annabeth shoved him.

He frowned and crossed his arms. “Percy, no.” he muttered, making all of them laugh.

“You’re such a simp.” Leo accused.

Annabeth snuggled into Percy and he kissed her cheek. Both of them blushed when Piper teased them about it.

They stayed there for some time. Their friends told them about how bowling went and how Hazel surprisingly kicked their asses in the game, even if she claimed she’d never played it before. They said how Leo guaranteed he was going to win and lost twenty dollars for making it a bet with Rachel.

“That is a weird kind of flirting,” Jason provoked.

Percy and Annabeth exchanged a curious look when they saw Thalia whispering something in Reyna’s ear that made her laugh, remembering them of their own bet they made while in Annabeth’s bedroom.

Reyna was the one to warn them about the time. It was past eleven and close to midnight already, so they decided to go home. Jason gave Piper, Leo and Thalia a ride home and Percy went with Reyna, Annabeth and Rachel to the other side.

Annabeth’s house was the last stop before his own and he did it totally on purpose.

He gave a kiss while she was still in the car and he could feel his heart melt when their lips connected. She finished the kiss with a quick peck before telling him goodnight and getting out of the car quickly.

Annabeth was slightly embarrassed by the intensity of her feelings for her best friend. However, maybe it was a good thing.

After all, it was completely mutual.


End file.
